We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Lauren Tilden. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Lauren below.

Lauren, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

I’ve worked with small business owners across many industries, from jewelry designers to events professionals to graphic designers to candle makers and more, but I’ve noticed that the ones seeing the biggest business results have one thing in common:

They take action.

They don’t spend too much time researching, planning, or seeing how other people do things. They don’t overthink .They don’t get stuck in perfectionism.

They take imperfect, consistent action. Through taking action, they get 1% better every day, which over time leads to huge results.

Lauren, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I help small business owners do great marketing (without getting overwhelmed).

I spent 8 years in corporate marketing, but got burned out and walked away in 2017.

Just for fun, with zero expectations (just a commitment to take a different approach to building a fulfilling life), I started selling my handmade calligraphy greeting cards (Good Sheila) to my mom’s retail store (Station 7).

A lot of ups, downs, and all-arounds later… I’m now the proud owner of both that greeting card business and my mom’s retail store.

Over the years, I realized that small businesses can make a huge impact on the world around us, and one of the best ways to do that is through great marketing.

And so these days, while I still run my product businesses, I am primarily focused on my work as a marketing educator where I help small business owners do better marketing without getting overwhelmed. I do this through my podcast, Making Good, as well as my membership community for small business owners, Making Good Happen.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

There are 2 books I would recommend to any entrepreneur.

The first is ‘Mindset’ by Carol Dweck. Carol Dweck is a psychologist and professor who has studied what sets the top performers apart, across everything from athletics to business to academics and beyond. She found that across the board, the best of the best of any category are people with a “growth” mindset — people who believe that talent, ability and skill can be learned and gained through practice and effort (as opposed to people with a “fixed” mindset, who believe that these things are inherent. People with a growth mindset take action, they’re willing to make mistakes, they’re willing to ask dumb questions, they are willing to put in the reps. And these are the people who rise to the top.

The second book is ‘Atomic Habits’ by James Clear. This book illustrates the power of taking small, consistent actions every day. Just like atoms are the smallest particle in the universe — atomic habits are the small, seemingly insignificant every day actions that add up to make a huge impact on the lives and businesses we have.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I think there are two things that have really helped establish my position as a small business marketing expert.

First, I genuinely love what I do. I believe that the energy we bring to our work, and especially our marketing, really comes through. I think my audience can tell that I LOVE marketing, that I LOVE working with small businesses, I LOVE talking about the importance of mindset in business… and that these topics really light me up. My enthusiasm comes through in my content.

Second, I am committed to adding massive value. I give away tons of free content — and have been doing so for years. Many people would charge for some of the things I give away to my audience for free, but I love that I can help make a difference for people before they even decide to spend a penny with me. Creating valuable content is the ultimate way to build trust with your audience, and trust is what sells.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://makinggoodpodcast.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/laurentilden
• Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/laurentilden

Image Credits
Photos by Hallie Kathryn Photography